I Once was Lost, but Now I'm Found
by Keajo
Summary: A tip about Krick comes in and Bennett follows it up.Putting Krick behind bars seemed like a worthy exploit, especially since Zeta had disappeared after Knossos without a trace.Until now...What will Bennett do when he finds Zee in Krick's cruel clutches?
1. Chapter 1: Surprise

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and no one from The Zeta Project. I am just a poor college student who also happens to be a rabid Zeta fan and this just happens to be a fanfiction that my mind came up with that I feel like sharing with other fans. I make absolutely NO money from this. It is merely for fun and hopefully the enjoyment of other fans. Please don't sue and fans please enjoy.

**Title:** I Once was Lost, but Now I'm Found

**Chapter 1:** Surprise

"Ready?" Bennett rumbled under his breath, his gaze fixed on West across the doorway even as he saw most of the rest of the team nod in his peripheral vision. This was a big collar. There was no room for error, not even from West. Somehow, with his face looking more serious then usually, the redhead caught his boss's searching gaze and nodded.

"Well then," Bennett whispered, looking back towards the door. "Here we go."

….

_Bang!_

The door blew in, chips of wood flying everywhere and NSA agent James Bennett charged right in after it, his team coming in behind, covering his back. Bennett's eyes searched the room and his gun trained on the first person he saw. "Down on the ground. Krick get down on the ground right now or I'm going to blow your brains out."

The fugitive cyborg dropped his fork and raised his hands in surrender from where he sat eating dinner in the stark, cold room of the abandoned warehouse, the startled look still plastered on his face. He had just set down to the meal. This raid was entirely unexpected. He couldn't believe his early warning system had failed him so completely. Of course he had been focused on other things lately.

"Down on the ground!" Bennett growled, his tone enlisting a few more of his team's guns trained on the fugitive.

"Okay, okay. I'm down. I'm down," Krick said, moving to lie on his belly on the floor. "I'm peacefully surrendering myself to you. Don't shoot"

"Hands where I can see them," Bennett demanded coldly, not giving the cyborg an inch.

Krick quietly complied, slowly laying his hands palm down on front of him. Bennett gave a tight nod when the deed was done. "Good now stay there. If I so much as think you've twitched wrong, my people are going to blow your head off."

"Whatever," Krick said lazily to the ground.

Bennett twitched his head over to look at his team, but he didn't take his eyes or his gun off the fugitive. Just because Krick was down didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. "Search the place," the commanding agent ordered the pair behind him. "I want to know exactly what this lowlife was doing here."

West and Rush broke off from the rest of the group and started into the compound, their guns raised.

"And be careful," Bennett called after them.

"Yes sir."

Krick's head jerked to the side drawing Bennett's attention back to the cyborg. "Don't test me," the man snapped.

"Oh no. I would never do that." The fugitive had the nerve to grin. "I just_ have_ to ask agent Bennett; how did you ever find me?"

"Creds," Bennett answered shortly. "Follow the money."

Bennett could see Krick's eyes widen in surprise at that. "Wait so you were after _me_?"

"What do you think?" Bennett scoffed. "You're a degenerate criminal who needs to be locked in a cell with the key thrown away."

Krick's eyes widened further. "You don't know…" Then he smiled viscously. "Oh how fun!"

Bennett's already scowling lips deepened into a frown and he glared suspiciously down at Krick over the barrel of his gun. "Know what?"

"Sir-"

"Not right now West," Bennett snapped over his shoulder then turned back to find Krick was sniggering. The cyborg was actually sniggering! "Know what Crick?" the head agent demanded again.

"You'll see, you'll see," the fugitive said in a strange sing-song voice.

Bennett stared. Why in the world was the psycho so pleased with himself? He had just gotten arrested for crying out loud!

"Sir-"

"Not now West!" Bennett snarled, not taking his eyes from Krick.

"Bennett you really need to come over here."

Rush's calm, quiet, very professional voice said from Bennett's left where she and West were standing right outside one of the many doors that were scattered within the building.

Bennett sighed. If Rush insisted as well as West then it must be important. The man pulled out a pair of restraints and crouched next to the fugitive. "Hands behind your back Krick. Good." Bennett clicked the cuffs around the cyborg's wrists and stepped back again, gesturing to another set of partners in the group. "Take him to the van and sit on him. Sedate him if you have to. I don't want this one getting away. He's caused us enough trouble as is."

"Understood" was the nodded reply.

"Sir?" West's voice chimed in again.

"I'm coming. I'm coming," Bennett said tightly, swiftly making his way over to the pair who were hovering by that door. "What is so importan- Oh god." Bennett stopped dead in his tracks and stared into the room at the sight that greeted him. "Is that… that's Zeta!"

**TBC…**

Hey all. Most of the fanfics I have does so far are rather long, but this is my attempt at a shorter little 5-10 chapter fic. (Orignally it was a oneshot, but I just can't seem to do those. My imagination gets carried away with itself.) Anyway, I hope you like and please, please review.

P.S. My chapter titles are mostly inspired by songs and/or lyrics within a song that I generally like (although sometimes inspired by other media like popular movies etc…).

Title: "I Once was Lost, but Now I'm Found" lyric from "Amazing Grace"… a song sung by many a person.

Chapter title: "Surprise" from the song "No Surprise" by Daughtry.


	2. Chapter 2: Fear

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and no one from The Zeta Project. I am just a poor college student who also happens to be a rabid Zeta fan and this just happens to be a fanfiction that my mind came up with that I feel like sharing with other fans. I make absolutely NO money from this. It is merely for fun and hopefully the enjoyment of other fans. Please don't sue and fans please enjoy.

**Chapter**** 2**: Fear

Bennett's eyes widened in shock at the burned and broken body of the synthoid before him. Other then shape, the IU resembled nothing of its former shining metallic glory.

Zeta was in horrible shape. With his head bowed, he hung limply from his pinned hands which were cuffed together and bolted to the wall above him. Electric, heat and cold burns covered his body and pieces of his armor had somehow been cracked open exposing his inner workings and even more pieces of his metal skin were unexplainably discolored and crumbling away. Furthermore, the synthoids arms had been callously cut open and his blades and lasers removed. Any other means of defense or offense Zeta had left had been short-circuited long ago.

Bennett stared in horror. Sure his team was supposed to bring Zeta in, most likely through decapacitating the synthoid somehow, but this… this was torture.

The most troubling factor in all of this was the IU wasn't moving... at all. And he was silent. Completely silent. No soft whir or rattle of recharging. Just silence.

From where Bennett stood there was no way for him to tell if the synthoid was even functioning anymore. The disturbing thoughts brought the man back to the present and he stepped into the room and crouched down by the broken body. Reaching out with a hand, he tried to get some sort of response. "Zeta?"

The synthoid made a sudden gasping sound and shielded away from the voice, but with his restrained hands he couldn't get far. "No more… please… No more."

"Steady Zeta," Bennett said quietly, giving the synthoid a little space, relieved to see the IU was at least still operating even if it was not at optimal capacity. "We're not going to hurt you."

Zee's processor slowly analyzed the situation. All Krick did was hurt him. Why would the man say otherwise then Zee realized that voice… It was voice from his almost forgotten past. He barely dared to hope. It could be another trick, some new kind of torture Krick had devised, but…

"W-Who's there?" the synthoid said in a weak staticy voice, lifting his head. Rush gasped when she saw the extent of the damage that had been done to Zee's optics… Burns all over his face. There was so much damage.

"We're right in front of you. Zeta can't you see?" Bennett asked softly, dreading what the answer would be.

The synthoid's head hung in a way that if he were a human Bennett would have said he looked tired. "No…" Zee said in a quiet, broken voice. "No I cannot." The IU looked up in their general direction again, his optics unseeing, but still able to sense where they stood by sound. "That's you isn't it Bennett? Your voice…" Zee let out a sighing sound and leaned his head against his arm, his hands still tethered above him. "I never thought I would be so relieved to hear your voice. You will take me away from here won't you?"

Bennett couldn't help, but stare for a moment. Zeta sounded so… hopeful. "Yes Zeta," the man finally said. "Yes we will."

The IU made that sighing sound again and leaning back against the wall, seemed to relax. "Thank you."

Bennett didn't know what to say to that. The Zeta he knew would never have given up so easily. It was almost like Krick had really broken the IU and somehow not just physically. "That looks uncomfortable," the commanding agent finally said, eyeing the synthoid's restraints. "Let's get you down from there."

Zeta seemed to gasp and pulled away as the man reached up to his hands. "You can't," he said, shaking his head. "You can try, but you can't…" The synthoid inner workings suddenly gave a strange kind of confused sort of sound and Zeta turned his blinded eyes to Bennett. "Ro. Do you know what happened to Ro?"

The human blinked, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "No," he said then smiled gently. Even thought he did not admit it out loud, he had grown fond of the blonde despite himself. "But knowing her, I'm sure she is fine."

"Yes…" the synthoid sighed. "I told her to run. I told her I would meet up with her later," he bowed his head, his voice becoming softer. "I am sorry I was not able to keep that promise. I regret that… But I know she is okay. She must be. She is Ro."

The smile quickly fell from Bennett's face at the synthoid's sorrowful tone and he took a moment to glance around the stark cement room then he looked back at IU, confusion furrowing his brow. "How long have you been here Zeta?"

"I'm not sure anymore. I've been forced offline so many times I couldn't keep track," the synthoid said in that soft voice of his, shaking his head. He wanted to be helpful, to fill in the details for the man, but the IU simply didn't have them.

"Can you break the restraints?" Bennett asked in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. Deep down he felt bad for the synthiod. Yes Zeta had been a pain in his butt for years, but even a robot didn't deserve this kind of treatment. It was inhuman.

"No," Zee gasped, alarm rising in his voice. "No, no, no, no. I can't. " The synthoid all but whined.

Bennett couldn't help, but think the IU sounded terrified. Still that did not stop the man. "Try Zeta."

The synthoid shook his head weakly. "You don't understand."

"Zeta please try," Bennett insisted gently, but firmly. The man did not want to break the IU any more then he already was, but the sythoid had to try.

"Nooo," the synthoid moaned, curling his legs up against his chest and hiding his face. "I can't."

"Zeta. Zeta listen to me." Bennett leaned in to clasp the IU's shoulder. Zeta gasped and glanced up at the touch even though he couldn't see. "You can do this," Bennett continued.

Zeta whimpered, hanging his head in defeat. For a moment Bennett thought the synthoid had offlined, but then the IU's body tensed and he flexed against the restraints, his upper body lifting as he tried to pull his hands apart.

Bennett stepped back to give the IU room. He had no way of knowing what would happen next.

**TBC...**

Please, please, PLEASE review. It only take a couple of seconds and you have no idea how helpful it is. I really, really would like to know what someone thinks. Please?

P.S. Chapter title: "Fear" from song by same name sung by Sarah McLachlan.


	3. Chapter 3: Pain

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and no one from The Zeta Project. I am just a poor college student who also happens to be a rabid Zeta fan and this just happens to be a fanfiction that my mind came up with that I feel like sharing with other fans. I make absolutely NO money from this. It is merely for fun and hopefully the enjoyment of other fans. Please don't sue and fans please enjoy.

**Chapter 3:** Pain

The cuffs sparked at the IU's motion. Zee's head jerked back and a high-pitched shirk tore from his defenseless body as electricity surged ruthlessly into him. Bennett instinctively flinched away at the sound, falling back on his butt on the hard floor of the room. The synthoid's body withered and twitched uncontrollably in front of the agent as the electrical charge raged over his sensory nodes and delicate internal circuitry and systems. His metal body was the perfect conductor broken as it was. His hologram flickered as the charge played havoc with it, causing the agents to see brief horrific images of the human Zee screaming. Electricity arched from his metal casing, shimmering blindingly in the dim light. Zee's back arched in agony and another high pitch scream escaped him, but no matter what he did it did would not stop. The pain seemed to last forever to the poor synthoid even though it was really only a few seconds. Finally it ended and he hung limply in his bonds, smoking lightly.

The agents stared. They had never seen a synthoid scream like that before. Robots in general did not show pain, but no one doubted the agony Zee had been in… and now Zee wasn't moving. At first Bennett thought the IU had gone off line, but then Zee's weak staticy voice sounded in the quiet.

"I'm sorry… I just can't… It hurts."

Bennett couldn't help, but hear hopelessness in that broken voice. "Get Krick," the man snapped sharply over his shoulder.

Zee's head flew up even though he couldn't see, almost bumping on the back wall. "No," he said in a trembling voice.

Bennett could have sworn he saw a shudder go through the synthoids body. He sighed and crouched before the IU again. "Zeta it's the only way to get you free," the man said in a quiet, calm voice, but Zee was already shaking his head frantically.

"No. He hurts me. That's all he does," Zee said hurridly, desperate for them to understand.

Bennett looked straight into the synthoid's eyes even though he knew they were not functioning. "I promise you he will not," the commanding agent said seriously "Not anymore."

"Please Bennett don't," Zee begged.

"It will be fine," Bennett said softly, trying to reassure the nearly hysterical synthoid.

Zee whimpered and hung his head. Bennett wasn't listening. He was so stubborn. The man always was and Zee could never blame him for that. A person had to be who they were. They had to be true to themselves but… Bennett didn't know. He could never understand how very much the crazy ex-bounty hunter had hurt him… so much. In ways Zee himself had not even known were possible. He couldn't face the cyborg again. He just couldn't. He was scared.

There was a slight scuffing at the door then West popped back in with Krick being dragged behind him by another pair. The two other agents stiffened when they Zee and Krick laughed. "Ah… You found my little toy I see," the fugitive grinned viciously, his voice making the IU cringe away in fright. "You know there are so many ways to make even robots hypersensitive to pain. Well their version of pain," Krick corrected himself. "I should know after all. I am practically a cyborg myself thanks to that stupid synthoid," the bad man snarled the last word and Zee flinched at the tone with a slight whimper which just made the psycho smile wider.

Bennett stood up, moving himself in-between Krick and Zee protectively and leveled his formidable gaze at the cyborg. "How do I get him down?"

"Now why would I tell you that?" Krick asked, raising his eyebrow at Bennett, then looking around the man. "Having fun my little synthoid?" Zeta squirmed uncomfortable under Kricks intense gaze. He was scared of the cruel man. Zee might not be able to see Krick but he knew he was there. He could feel his eyes, hear his voice and the distinct sounds of his cybernetic parts. The synthoid whimpered, trying to stay as far away from Krick as possible with his hands still bound to the wall.

Bennett ground his teeth in frustration, but his eyes softened in pity as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the distraught synthoid behind him. The man looked back at Krick and his eyes narrowed angrily. "Get him out of here before I do something I won't regret as much as I should," Bennett said in a too calm voice, betraying his anger.

"Oh wait," Krick piped up as the pair started to drag him off again.

"What?" Bennett snapped.

The fugitive cyborg grinned way too cheerfully for someone about to go to prison. "Do I still get the bounty?"

Bennett stared in shock at the audacity of the man.

"I mean I was the one who caught him," Krick added lazily.

"What you get you little piece of shit is a very, very long sentence in jail," Bennett growled in a very dangerous voice.

Krick shrugged playfully, nonplused by the head agent's anger, which made most men want to crawl under a rock and hide until the storm had pass. "Last time I heard having fun with fugitive synthoids wasn't a crime."

"It is when they are government property, but you've done so many other crimes we won't even have to mention Zeta to get you life in prison," Bennett snapped back.

"Tut, tut," Krick shook his head mockingly, his eyes shinning with undisguised glee. "Quiet a temper you got there." Krick purposely banged his metal arm back against the doorway, causing the Zee to suddenly cry out and uselessly tried to cover the auditory systems in the side of his head with his arms like a human would with their ears. A burst of static and techno gibberish Bennett thought of loosely as 'robot talk' emitted from the pained robot.

"Oops clumsy me," the cyborg shrugged, nonchalant.

A flow of strange electronic sounds continued to spill from the synthoid even though Krick was no longer doing anything.

Bennett had managed not to flinch before, but now he glanced over his shoulder worriedly at the distraught IU. Had the man somehow broken the IU? "What… Zeta?"

Krick smirked at Zee over the agent's shoulder. "He's begging me to stop."

Bennett's confused gaze turned back to the cyborg. "What?"

Krick turned his self-satisfied smirk on Bennett. "See."

There was a click and Kricks robotic systems started to roughly translate Zee's words into something humans could understand.

'Please stop, please stop' the robot begged over and over again. There was something terribly hollow about the tone. Bennett stared over his shoulder at Zee then turned slowly back to face Krick. "You hurt him."

"You have no idea how easy I've made it," the cyborg hissed, watching the IU with a predatory gaze, reveling in Zee's pain. Krick banged his leg back on the wall, his eyes glimmering at the result. The synthoid flinched and let out something between a squawk and a shriek before quieting until he was simply trembling, waiting in terror for the next blow. "Go ahead yourself," Krick grinned at the speechless Bennett. "I know you have your own frustrations with the IU."

Bennett stared at the man for a moment longer. Audacity didn't even being to cut it. "How dare you-" Bennett breathed, his anger boiling up inside him. He had promised Zeta and he had let the IU down. It didn't matter if the promise was to a synthoid, Bennett still let him down and all because of this twisted psychopath. "Get him out of here," Bennett snarled, shaking in barely repressed fury. Not many people could get under Bennett's skin but oooh this man had done it. The agents holding Krick quickly took his words as their cue and dragged the laughing man off before Bennett could hit him.

Rush had never seem Bennett so angry before. It took her a moment to realize he was talking again. "Zeta's right. Krick's not going to be any help. We're going to have to release his hands manually."

The man crouched down to the trembling synthoid. "Zeta," Bennett's eyes grew pained as he saw the IU flinch at his voice. He sighed. "I'm sorry Zeta. I should have listened to you."

Zee lifted his head almost groggily as if the pain had stunned him. "He's… gone?"

"Yes."

Zee flinched again with a little shutter. "Please… don't talk so loud… It hurts."

Bennett nodded and lowered his voice to a bare whisper. He had been so focused on the synthoid before he had not realized he had been speaking in a hushed tone until Krick had incurred his wrath.

"Is this better?" he said softly, his anger melting away as he watched the abused IU.

"Yes," Zee nodded weakly, leaning back against the wall. "Thank you."

Bennett felt something inside him soften at the synthoid's words. He couldn't be tough on Zeta. Not now and the IU seemed willing so there was no point to be hard on him as long as he cooperated. "I'll make sure the others know to be quiet." Bennett's brow furrowed with concern as he looked closer at all the synthoid's damage. "That psycho really messed with your systems didn't he? Is there anything else I should be concerned about other then loud noises?"

Zee was silent for a moment and Bennett couldn't help but wonder if synthoids could freeze up like some AIs, but then the infiltration unit shook his head. "I cannot think of anything other then what you see."

Bennett nodded, eyeing the synthoid. "Oh Zeta what am I doing to do with you?" the man mumbled under his breath, rubbing his eyes tiredly, honestly not sure what to do anymore.

"Sir… let me try something?"

TBC…

Please someone review,** please**!

P.S. Chapter title: "Fear" from song by same name sung by Three Days Grace.


	4. Chapter 4: Broken

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing and no one from The Zeta Project. I am just a poor college student who also happens to be a rabid Zeta fan and this just happens to be a fanfiction that my mind came up with that I feel like sharing with other fans. I make absolutely NO money from this. It is merely for fun and hopefully the enjoyment of other fans. Please don't sue and fans please enjoy.

**Chapter 4**: Broken

"Rush?" Bennett blinked up to find West and his partner quietly waiting for direction. Bennett had honestly forgotten they were there for a second, so focused was he on the synthoid before him. And West... West was being so quiet it was practically a miracle.

"I have the most recent bomb training in the squad, sir. I should be able to figure out some way to release him," Rush said, explaining her interruption then waiting once more for further instructions.

"No." Zee was shaking his head.

But Bennett nodded to her. "Find the electric conduit first and cut it. I don't want anyone getting shocked on accident."

"Yes sir."

Zee shielded away from the female agent as he heard her near and crouched down beside him. "No. Rush please don't. You might get hurt."

"I'll wear rubber gloves," the woman reassured him, moving in to take a closer look at the restraints without touching the synthoid yet.

"It would just be easier to cut off my hands," Zee said, his head drooping despairingly.

Rush frowned slightly. She had never felt pity for a robot before, but there was always a first time for everything. "Don't talk like that," she said gently. "We'll get you out of here Zeta. It's our job. We're supposed to take you with us remember? As intact as possible."

"Just… Just be careful," the synthiod said in a small, pleading voice.

"I plan to be," the female agent gave a curt nod, leaning closer to inspect the restraints. She couldn't see any wiring, but then the mechanism could have just as easily been wired through the metal of the cuffs or even inside them... But then there would have to be some sort of energy source outside- unless the restraints had their own compact battery. If that was true all it would take was a pressure plate inside and- Rush sighed, brushing a lock of hair back off her forehead. This was going to be more complicated then she had thought, but then she was getting nowhere just sitting here. She reached out with a cautious hand, but Zee's voice suddenly startled her out of her thoughts.

"And don't burn yourself."

The woman blinked, troubled by the words. "What? " she said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What do you mean 'don't burn yourself'?"

Zee lifted his head and seemed to look at her, even though she knew his optics were no longer functioning. "My wrists are still hot from the electricity," he said after a long moment, clarifying. "I don't want you to burn yourself."

"Oh…" She blinked and pulled away from the cuffs. She could feel the heat now that she wasn't so completely focused on the task at hand. She flushed lightly in embarrassment, but her dark skin hid the blush well and her stoic features disguised the emotions within her. She knew without the syntiods warning she would have definitely burned herself and felt the fool. Not to mention the heckling she would have gotten from her fellow agents for being so reckless. Rush felt a sudden and unexpected warmth towards the IU rise within her, but she quickly squashed it back down. Zeta was still a fugitive and dangerous, but that didn't stop her from murmuring, "thanks for the warning," under her breath, before getting up to gather the equipment she'd need to free the synthoid.

With the right tools and protective gloves, it only took Rush a few minutes to discover how to disarm the cuffs now that she knew what she was looking for, but getting to the power source was a bit trickier then she would have liked. A micro power-cell had been installed into each of the cuffs and had to be removed seperately. But first she had to get into the compartments that held them... without triggering the cuffs. And knowing Krick, there were probably booby traps somewhere in the workings. If she could just...

Bennett stood back, giving Rush space to work, but still lingering near so he could watch the proceedings, a scowl darkening his features. They had finally caught Zeta, but it was never supposed to be like this. The synthiod was so damage-

"Sir?"

"What?!" Bennett snapped, his thoughts scattered by Rush's voice as he turned sharply to face her.

She raised a questioning eyebrow. "Could you maybe pace over there?" she said, waving vaguely with a gloved hand to the far end of the container.

"I..." the man blinked, not realizing he had started prowling the width of the room like a caged animal. "Oh. Yes. I will... stop."

She nodded in acknowledgement, a knowing look in her eyes and turned back to Zeta. It was obvious to anyone who knew Bennett that he was upset. Zeta's condition had hit him hard. He tried to hide it and most people would have been fooled, but... but she didn't have time to focus on that now. She needed to concentrate. Just a little more and- with a click the magnetized compartment slid open and the little cylindrical battery popped out of the left cuff. An uncharacteristic grin spread over Rush's face in satisfaction. That wasn't so hard. And the second was even easier.

"There," Rush sat back on her haunches and carefully placed the micro batteries into an evidence bag, careful not to lose the grain-of-rice-sized power cells.

"Thank you," Zeta whispered, his body sagging in relief. His hands were still cuffed above his head, but he could no longer hear faint humming that had issued from them before, belaying their dangerous electric tendencies.

"That _was_ pretty cool," West said, peering over his reluctant partners shoulder.

Still high on her success, Rush smiled over her shoulder at him before turning back to Zeta, leaving the startled West gawking at her back.

"Well we're not done yet," she said, picking up a laser cutter from the toolbox and deftly cutting through the chain that held the cuffs together and bolted to the wall.

Caught off-guard by his sudden release, Zeta collapsed forward and right into Rush.

The woman let out a startled squeak as the syntiod's weight crashed into her, bowling her to the ground. She slammed back painfully against the metal floor, the air rushing from her lungs as the wind was knocked out of her. Time seemed to slow, the seconds dragging as Rush desperately tried to suck air back down into her lungs, but they just wouldn't work. For a long horrible moment she thought she was going to faint, then, as suddenly as it had happened, her lungs unfroze. Rush greedily gasped down her first breath and cursed herself, knowing she should have realized the restraints had been the only thing keeping the IU upright. Getting her wind back, she struggled to lever the synthiod's considerable weight off her, but the heavy metal body wouldn't budge.

The next thing she knew, West, the grand idiot that he was, was yelling and waving a gun around. Luckily, Bennett was there a second later grabbing the weapon and wrenching it from the boy, before shoving it back into the young man's chest. "Put your damned gun away, West, before I take it from your permanently," Bennett growled, then turned to the tangle of robot and human arms and legs that was Rush and Zeta.

Zee was attempting to push himself off Rush by that time, apologizing the whole way, but he just didn't have the motor functions left to budge himself. His system gave a disgruntled whine when he tried to raise himself up on his arms then there was a pop from somewhere deep inside him and Rush saw a flash of naked electricity spark within his chest. The synthiod made a gasping sound, a shudder cascading through his metal frame before his arms gave out and he collapsed back to ground, but this time he somehow managed to land with his upper body beside the woman instead of on top of her.

Bennett was suddenly there, crouched beside them. "Are you hurt?" he asked Rush, as he grabbed the synthiod by the waist and dragged him the rest of the way off her.

She shook her head, pushing herself up onto her arms. "Just the wind knocked out of me," she panted.

The man nodded to her, turning his attention back to Zeta. The synthoid lay on his side, his arms crossed protectively over his broken chest plate and... He was… whimpering. That wasn't really the right word for the sounds that were coming from the synthoid, but Bennett didn't have anything better to call it. There was nothing natural about the sounds. It wasn't like a dog's whimpering. It was more… metallic. But it was still high pitched and sounded… pained. And Bennett was at a complete loss at what to do.

"I think something broke in him while he was trying to get off me. " Rush said as she slid into a crouch beside Bennett.

The man frowned and leaned over the synthoid. "Zeta? Hey Zeta? Are you still with us?"

"Ben-nett?" Zee said groggily, shifting as if trying look at them, but instead his body gave a shudder and he let out a low groan, drooping back to the floor.

Bennett's frown deepened, a spark of pity flaring up inside him. It didn't seem fair to have come all this way if the synthiod was just going to break down on them now.

"Benne..." Zee's weak voice cut out in a bout of static. There was a whirring sound from somewhere deep inside him then a clunk and his body went limp as the lights shining inside his casing flickered and slowly died away.

**TBC…**

Oh god! Where did the time go?! I had no idea I had left these sitting for so long. I mean I knew it had been awhile since I've updated, but yeesh! Anyway I hope you like this little update and, as always, I love reviews.

P.S. Chapter title: "Broken" from the title of Lifehouse song by same name.


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